You made it! Peruvian cross-country skier Roberto Carcelen finishes race dead last with a broken rib 28 minutes behind gold medal winner who sticks around to give him a hug

They say nice guys finish last, but there's now Olympic proof that nice guys also stick around to the very end to greet their fellow athletes.

Roberto Carcelen, a cross country skier and Peru's first-ever Winter Olympian broke a rib during training, but was determined to compete in today's 15 kilometer ski course.

He finished dead last and his time was nearly twice that of gold medal-winning Swiss skier Dario Cologna.

Give me a hug: The biggest cheer was reserved for Roberto Carcelen of Peru, 43, who finished the race last in 1hour 6min 29.9sec, some 28 minutes behind Cologna (right) but his prize was a hug from the gold medal winner which made it all worthwhile

Final stretch: Peru's Roberto Carcelen skis with a Peruvian flag in his hand on the finish straight of the men's 15K classical-style cross-country race at the 2014 Winter Olympics

Down but not out: Peru's Roberto Carcelen waves his national flag while crossing the finish line in the Men's Cross-Country Skiing 15km Classic at the Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Center

Carcelen even had the course to himself for more than ten minutes.

In the final stretch, Roberto grabbed a Peruvian flag for the final stretch and proudly skied to the finish line.

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Fans cheered for his dogged determination and perseverance.

Staring exhausted into the sky as he waded through the tracks, Carcelen must have wondered when it all might end.

To the last: Roberto Carcelen skied today in the Men¿s 15 kilometer Classic race. Competing with a broken rib, Carcelen finished dead last. But his struggle toward the finish line was nothing if not honorable; as he approached the end of the race, a spectator handed him a Peruvian flag

But end it did and Carcelen was granted a huge ovation from the stands as he crossed the line carrying a Peruvian flag.

Then after he crossed the finish line, he received something that he may feel is worth more than a medal - a hug from the winner.

Dario Cologna of Switzerland crossed the finish line almost half an hour ahead of Carcelen but he stayed around to congratulate him for finishing with a heartfelt hug and warm embrace.

Cologna won the race with a time of 38 minutes, 29.7 seconds. Carcelen finished with a time of one hour, six minutes, and 28.9 seconds.

Carcelen became Peru's first-ever Winter Olympian in 2010, but just three weeks before Sochi, he injured his ribs in training, and an Austrian doctor informed him that he likely wouldn't be able to compete.

Come here! Peru's Roberto Carcelen and Nepal's Dachhiri Sherpa (left) embrace after crossing the finish line in the men's cross-country 15km classic event at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics February 14, 2014. Carcelen finished last and Sherpa second to last

Afterwards, he said that it was 'a big honor to make history. Hopefully I`ll inspire people in Peru.'

He had picked up a respiratory infection which made it hard for him to breathe, coming on top of a rib injury.

'It was a very difficult race for me. There are people with flu at the village and it was hard for me to breathe. I was in a lot of pain in my right ribs.'

Carcelen competed in the 15 kilometer event in Vancouver 2010, where he became the first Peruvian athlete to take part at the Olympic Winter Games. But he thinks Sochi will his last.

'I`m retiring now. I want to dedicate myself to a cross country development project and to work with kids to get them to the Olympics.'

Despite his rib injury, Carcelen decided to go for it anyway. He knew it woud be a challenge. 'I'm going for it, it will be a long and painful race,' the 43-year-old Olympian tweeted beforehand. 'This is one of the biggest challenges I have ever faced.'

'Everyone says to me, ‘Oh, you’re so lucky.’ I don’t believe luck exists,' Carcelen said a few weeks before the Games. 'It’s all about how you approach life.'

We did it! Dachhiri Sherpa (left) of Nepal embraces Roberto Carcelen of Peru in the finish area after the race